This story was done in collaboration between me and DaveMan1000 (both here and on DeviantART), and we own the OCs that are used in the story. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:
Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel
The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry
Power Rangers (c) Hasbro
Super Sentai (c) Toei
Title: Bad Day at Castle Loch
Opening up outside Sodor High School, things were going very well for the students attending despite homework piling up so early. Everyone in Billy Twofeathers' history class were very excited to get home and prepare for the next day, because they were all going on a field trip to the old Scottish castle owned by Lord Callan. As class was drawing to a close, Billy Twofeathers had given the students a free period of time, where they were busy chatting about the upcoming field trip. Thomas, Percy, Toby, and Rosie were seen sitting on the couches near the back, still recovering from their most recent battle with Gnarly Gnome—yet it wasn't going to stop them from enjoying the field trip with everyone else.
"…and that's why they call it a 'Pimiento rojo'," finished Percy.
"So it was just an extra spicy pepper?" pressed Rosie.
"Yes."
"And why did you tell us this?" The pink-haired girl deadpanned in response.
"Because I'm bored and can't wait for the field trip tomorrow," answered Percy, staring up at the ceiling.
"Hey, we're 'all' excited," said Thomas, "Though I kinda wish we weren't stuck with Diesel and his cronies."
"At least they're not the only Smelters members joining us," Toby pointed out, as he stood up and walked over to a nearby table to assist Edward with something, "Besides, let's not worry about anything Diesel might try to spoil."
When no one else was looking, Toby cast a quick glance towards Mavis nearby, who was speaking to Paxton and Sidney. That, however, wasn't lost on Rosie.
"And we all know which one 'you' have the eyes for," snickered Rosie mischievously, standing up, approaching, and lightly elbowing Toby, who shifted awkwardly, "Eh, Toby?"
"You actually gonna take the shot this time?" urged Percy, "Mavis will be there for the whole trip."
"I dunno," admitted Toby, "I've gotta be tactful about it. I mean you don't just walk up to a girl, hand her a bouquet and say 'Hey, fancy going out?'. It's just not done that way."
"Oh, you'd be surprised," commented Thomas, "That's exactly how I swept Emily off her feet on our first date, and now we practically finish each other's-"
"BOO!" The voice of Emily yelled out.
"Gah!" yelped Thomas.
He jumped as he felt himself being glomped from behind, drawing the attention of Edward, Henry, Gordon, and James close by. The familiar feeling of Emily's touch made him relax into her embrace.
"I thought I felt my ears burning," joked Emily, as she draped her arms over Thomas, hugging his head from behind, "Were you talking about me while I wasn't around?"
"Where have 'you' been?" asked Rosie.
Emily let go of Thomas and took a seat on the chair next to him, rummaging in her backpack. While she was doing that, James, Gordon, and Henry walked up.
"Come take a look at what I borrowed from the school library just now," informed Emily, as she pulled out a book from her backpack, "Here it is."
"Lemme see it," requested James, taking the book from Emily and looking at it himself, "What kind of book is this…" He flipped to the next page, "…supposed to be exactly?"
"It's an old book that talks about that old Scottish castle and its history from many years ago," explained Emily.
"Ah, I see," nodded Edward, interested.
"Oh man, Lord Callan's Castle," grinned Percy, eager for the next day to arrive, "You know, Donald and Douglas both had a little misadventure over there two years ago."
"Wasn't that the time they assisted their parents in remodeling the place?" remembered Thomas.
"Remember when they thought they saw the legendary Loch Ness monster and tried to tell everyone about it?" mentioned Henry, "Only they were proven wrong in the end."
James snorted, "I'm not surprised that's the case," he said rudely, not looking up from the book, "After all, there's no such thing as the Loch Ness monster."
"I don't know about that, James," cut in Emily, bringing a few fingers to her chin, "I'm actually interested in trying to find the beastie and take a picture of it."
"Go for it, Emily," encouraged Thomas.
James rolled his eyes over Thomas sometimes being a suck up towards Emily and resumed reading the book—when Gordon suddenly snatched it from him.
"Hey!" protested James hotly.
Gordon flipped through a few additional pages and found something very interesting.
"Whoa, take a look at this," suggested Gordon, handing the book back to Emily as she looked for herself, "According to this page, the Island of Sodor used to be ruled by a King and Queen."
Looking down at the page in-question, Emily discovered that Gordon was right; the page showed a picture of an old black and white painting depicting a royal couple in their early thirties. The King, named 'Anakin', was dressed in a tunic with several jewels around the hem and shoulders, gauntlets, leg guards, a shoulder piece that had a red cape attached to it, and a simple gold crown. The Queen, 'Anastasia', stood beside him, wearing a long flowing sleeveless dress that reached the floor, high-heeled slippers, satin gloves, and a simple tiara.
"You're right, Gordon," The voice of Emily confirmed, just as she was shown reading something while James and Henry both looked over her shoulders, "According to the page, these two ruled from 1233 to 1251."
"Geez! That Queen almost looks just like you, Emily," noted James.
Emily blinked a few times before looking down at the page again, admitting to herself that the Queen did look a bit like her in a few ways.
(Rita's Palace)
Over at the Lunar Palace on the Moon, high up on one of the towers…
"Those fools can't be allowed to have any fun!" The voice of Rita grumbled, "Not while I'm still planning my next scheme!"
On the balcony, Rita stood alone near the railing, speaking before turning to the left.
"But what to do?" Rita asked herself, before walking off to the workshop, "Time to see if Finster has something worthy of my time and energy."
Inside his workshop, Finster was on the far side of his area, inspecting the table of older molds, when he heard Rita's footsteps and began to hurry back to his station. Rita soon marched inside the workshop entryway, making some noise as she impatiently tapped her scepter on the floor twice.
"Okay, Finster, what have you got?" she demanded.
"You're just in time, your Vileness," replied Finster, as he walked from the desk to the shelves before reaching to take a large old book from the top shelf, "I have something I want to show you."
He handed the grumpy-looking Rita the book, who opened it and started flipping through pages with disinterest. Before she could lose her temper over Finster wasting her time with books about junk from the Middle Ages, she found something that 'did' interest her.
"What is this now?" questioned Rita.
The page depicted the old stonehenge from England which was said to be constructed during the later BC years.
"A little something from the old days on Earth," nodded Finster, while still standing at the clay workspace, then motioning right arm as he spoke on and nodded some more, "Now, about your monster, I'm in the process of making a hippopotamus. The perfect specimen to accompany the aesthetics of such a location."
"No!" interrupted Rita, growling, as Finster nodded. It was then she motioned to her chest, "I want you to scrap it, and instead…" She held the opened book up and showed off the page with the old stonehenge, "…create a monster based on a golem wearing a crown resembling the stonehenge!"
"Scrap my creation?" pressed Finster, while still standing at the clay workspace, then motioning right arm as he spoke on and nodded, "After all the hard work I put into-"
"Do it now, Finster!" Rita threatened, as she leaned in close, "I will not say it again!"
"Y-Y-Yes, my Empress," sighed Finster fearfully, responding to Rita as she grew more angry while stepping closer to him. He motioned his right arm up before shaking his head, "I will have your new monster idea created."
"Good!" smirked Rita, as she turned and left the workshop, "I'll be back later!"
Now alone again, Finster rubbed his chin and pondered thoughtfully.
"Oh dear, Rita can be so hard to please these days," he commented to himself.
(Stirling Residence)
The next morning, as some kids ran by the place, all was well outside the Stirling residence seeing as it was a big day for Emily and all of her friends; today was the field trip to Callan's Castle. Inside her bedroom, Emily was sitting in-front of her mirror, wrapped in a towel, and blow-drying her damp hair. Though she was only half focused as her mind still buzzed thinking about how the Island of Sodor used to have a King and Queen, and how the depiction of the Queen in the book greatly resembled her through being tall, having long hair, and also quite mature-looking.
"I've always wanted to be a Queen. Queens are in charge and get to tell everybody what to do," thought Emily, "I can picture it now…"
A thought bubble formed above her. She imagined herself in the position of a Queen, standing on a castle balcony, looking out over a vast beautiful landscape as the gentle wind blew against her. Then she turned around and saw her King approaching, taking the form of Thomas, who wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close. The scene then shifted to them in a large ballroom dancing slowly, with him twirling her around before pulling her into a warm embrace. The scene then shifted again to the both of them in their private chambers, as they both held each other closely before they slowly leaned in, their faces moving closer and closer until…
*KNOCK, KNOCK!*
…the bubble popped when there was a knock on the door—although Emily didn't seem to mind that.
"Come in," sighed Emily dreamily.
The door opened, and Emily's Mother, Imelda Stirling, walked inside.
"Emily, breakfast will be ready in a few minutes," started Imelda, but then stopped, "Oh!" She chuckled playfully, "Well, Emily, I'm surprised that…" While speaking on, Emily listened while, at the same time, not paying attention, "…you're trying out a new style."
That caused Emily to snap out of her daydream as she looked in the mirror and yelped slightly at her reflection, as her hair had gone puffy all over. Realizing this was thanks to her accidentally leaving her hair dryer pointed at her head too long, she grumbled to herself as her Mother giggled with amusement before leaving the room. Annoyed by her own klutziness, Emily quickly fixed her hair and made her way to her walk-in wardrobe to decide on what to wear for the big day.
"I really gotta look my best here…" she said to herself.
With that said, Emily pulled the door open, walked inside, tossed out her towel, and closed the door fully. After a few minutes, the door opened and she emerged fully dressed. Given the nature of the field trip, the class had been instructed to not come in their school uniforms, so Emily opted for a green pleated skirt with a gold hem, a black long-sleeved blouse with gold cuffs, a green and gold jacket that she let hang loose, and a pair of green socks that stuck out slightly from her black high-heeled boots. As a final touch, she opened a small black box on her makeup table and pulled out a gold necklace with a triangular-cut emerald and fastened it round her neck. Reaching back into the black box, she pulled out a handwritten note.
"Happy Birthday my Emerald Angel. Love Thomas," Emily read to herself.
Smiling warmly, she kissed the note before putting it back. Quickly checking herself in the mirror, Emily undid the top two buttons of her blouse, showing off some of her cleavage as she shot herself an admiring glance.
"Lookin' sharp," Emily winked, just before leaving the bedroom.
Once downstairs in the kitchen, she found Imelda placing plates of eggs, bacon, and toast on the breakfast table. Emily's Father, Reginald Stirling, was seen seated at the head of the table drinking a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper.
"Morning, Emily," greeted Reginald, "You'd best eat something before leaving."
Emily was about to respond to the suggestion when she looked at the clock, which read '7:50'. Gasping, Emily knew she needed to meet with her friends before heading to school to catch the bus to Callan's Castle.
"Sorry, Dad, but I don't have time to eat," declined Emily, shaking her head, but she did grab a green apple from the fruit bowl, "I'll see you and…" She was then seen making a dash for the exit, "…Mom later this evening! Bye!"
"Have a nice time at Callan's Castle!" Imelda called out, just before Emily headed out the door. Once the door was closed and her daughter was gone, she brought her right hand to her forehead and shook her head with amusement, "Oh, Emily… What will we do with you?"
"Do you remember the time when we met for the first time at Callan's Castle twenty years ago?" Reginald spoke up, as he put his paper down.
"I'll never forget that time." smiled Imelda fondly, "It was one of the happiest moments of my life."
"It was mine too, honey," agreed Reginald, before taking hold of his coffee mug, "Mine too."
(Sodor High School)
Before long, Emily and her friends reached the school as the other students gathered outside as the buses started pulling up.
"Excited for the field trip, Mavis?" Emily asked, speaking to Mavis.
"Of course," confirmed Mavis, "This is something I wouldn't want to miss."
Mavis was currently dressed in a black v-neck shirt with yellow trim, covered by a matching black jacket, a black yoke skirt that reached her thighs, and black boots.
"Don't forget about me," cut in Rosie, who then wrapped her arms around the shoulders of Emily and Mavis, "This is a field trip I would never miss for the world."
Rosie was wearing a pink jumper shirt with cherry red and white sleeves, a pair of black tight shorts peeking out from under a pink and cherry red tartan skirt with a white hem, and reddish-pink boots.
"Correction, Rosie; none of us would want to miss this," corrected Toby.
Thomas nodded in agreement. Toby was wearing a gray t-shirt covered by a brown vest jacket with black details, matching brown and black shorts, and brown boots, and Thomas donned a blue t-shirt with a yellow collar that was covered by a dark blue vest with red trim, dark blue pants, and blue and dark red sneakers.
"Darn right," agreed Percy.
Percy had gone for a simple green shirt with a red collar, covered by a dark green jacket, jeans, and dark green shoes.
"Me neither," The voice of Diesel snickered, as he sauntered up with Daisy by his side, "Going on a field trip means going a whole day away from boring old school!"
"Don't forget about the contest, darling," reminded Daisy, "When I get voted Queen, I'll be able to order everyone around!"
"Same for when I become King," Diesel agreed eagerly.
Diesel was wearing a basic black shirt, with matching pants and boots, with a chain belt around his waist. Daisy, however, was decked out in a green crop-top that boldly showed off her midriff and cleavage, a black leather jacket with silver details, a black miniskirt with a green hem, and fancy green boots. Around her neck was a gold diamond necklace, and she sported matching earrings. She had also applied her usual thick makeup consisting of dark eyeshadow, and glossy red lipstick. Both of them carried a thick air of grandiose about them.
"Contest? What contest?" blinked Percy.
"And you can order people around if you're crowned King or Queen of the field trip?" pressed Emily, who grew curious.
"Oh, why, yes, Emily. You can order people around if you're voted as King or Queen. Didn't Mr. C tell you that?" teased Daisy.
Emily thought about it, "N-No, he didn't tell us."
"Well, it must have slipped from his mind or something," figured Daisy, "But either way, if you're voted King or Queen, you can basically tell anyone what to do."
"Don't listen to her, Emily," Mavis whispered, knowing fully well that Daisy was lying, "It's just asking for trouble."
"Ah, put a sock in it, blondie!" snapped Daisy, before resuming talking to Emily, "Trust me on this one, Emily. This is not a lie, this is real."
"You know 'you're' a blonde, too," Mavis growled to herself, irritated at Daisy and Diesel for trying to trick her best friend. She then leaned in close to Emily to whisper some words of advice, "Don't humor her Emily,"
"I know, but isn't that exactly the point of a Queen?" asked Emily.
"Oh, there's far more to being Queen than getting your own way all the time," Mavis pointed out, while shrugging at the end of her sentence, "A Queen is responsible for caring for her people, looking out for her kingdom, supporting her King, and all that kind of jazz."
Emily looked up into the sky in deep thought, with her mind now buzzing with the advice from Mavis. Everyone then started boarding their buses to head to Callan's Castle.
(Castle Grounds)
After an almost two hour long drive, the buses pulled up outside a massive old castle. Two black-haired students dressed in identical outfits: black shirts, black jackets with red details, black pants with red belts, red socks, and red boots with black and dark red details; they were twin brothers by the names of Donald and Douglas McIntosh, were seen looking out the window of one bus at the structure with fondness.
"There she is, Dougie," admired Donald, "Tis a beauty."
"Aye, Donnie," came from Douglas, "Jus' like good ol' home sweet home."
The owner of the old castle, Lord Callan, emerged with some of his staff to greet Sir Topham Hatt, who was decked out in a Scottish kilt.
"Welcome, Bertram!" greeted Lord Callan.
"I am very pleased that you have allowed several of our students to explore your old castle, Lord Callan," said Sir Topham Hatt.
"Think nothing of it, friend. Your students have all the time in the world to see my family's history," Lord Callan reassured, before addressing the students, "Please feel free to tour the entire estate. The courtyard has been reserved entirely for any activities you may have planned."
Many of the students from the Sodor High School houses cheered as Lord Callan turned and walked back inside the castle. Before anything else could happen, Sir Topham Hatt turned and spoke up.
"Now, before we head inside to begin the tour, there's something I want to bring up," he boomed, "There will be a draw at the end of the trip, which students, a pairing of a boy and girl, can enter for a chance to win."
"I knew sending Dennis to snag that itinerary would pay off one of these days," thought Diesel deviously.
"The winning pair will be crowned 'King' and 'Queen' of Callan's Castle," finished Sir Topham Hatt, "They will receive a special ceremony in the manner of the Island of Sodor's original monarchs, King Anakin and Queen Anastasia."
The thought of being crowned as 'King' and 'Queen' of the field trip excited everyone, while the Ranger teens were left very surprised by how spot on Diesel and Daisy were about the contest. Speaking of whom…
"I know without a doubt Daisy and I will be crowned the winners," bragged Diesel.
"That's for sure, Diesel-kins," cooed Daisy, before turning towards Dodge, Splatter, Paxton, and Sidney, "You four!"
Paxton and Sidney both flinched, but Dodge and Splatter did no such thing.
"Yes!" Dodge and Splatter obeyed at the same time.
"Bring me some air temperature water, fresh Muscat d'Alexandrie grapes and some shelter from this sun!" requested Daisy, snapping her fingers, "And make it quick like a bunny!"
"Yes, your Majesty!" Dodge and Splatter nodded, doing so at the same time, "Like a bunny!"
"Is she serious?" Paxton whispered to Sidney.
"Why don't we just humor her and Diesel?" suggested Sidney, while Paxton appeared worried, "I'm sure it won't be all bad."
That didn't exactly make Paxton very thrilled, but he did believe that Sidney might be right about it not being as bad as one might expect.
(Rita's Palace)
Over at the Lunar Palace on the Moon…
"Here it is, your Grumpiness," The voice of Finster announced. Inside the workshop, he had a clay model of a large golem in one of his hands, "The stone golem you requested."
Rita stood in the workshop
"Wonderful!" smiled Rita, while ceasing holding hand to her stomach, as Finster nodded behind his workspace, "Now, hurry and bring it to life!"
"Of course," answered Finister, spreading out his left arm.
Rita watched as Finster approached and turned the wheel, opening the Monster-Matic door before placing the newly made mold onto the conveyor belt, then turning the wheel and sending it inside the machine, as Rita smiled on.
"I can't wait to sick this destructive brute after the Power Rangers," she tittered with excitement.
The monster mold entered Monster-Matic, then the door closed. Finster grabbed the lever and pulled it down then back up, causing the Monster-Matic's exhaust pipe to begin spewing smoke. As the machine rumbled, pipe spewing smoke, something was moving towards the shaking exit tube.
"Here he comes," assured Finster, as he and Rita both watched as the Monster-Matic's output tube soon expelled smoke and sparks, "Right on time."
More smoke poured from just below the Monster-Matic's tube, and when it cleared away, a large stone golem was seen crouching over the floor before standing tall with both arms out. The monster's rock hard skin was cyan in color, and he wore a crown shaped like the stonehenge on his head.
"I live to serve you, Empress!" The golem monster vowed with loyalty.
Rita turned her head to her right, an evil grin slowly creeping upon her face, as she next turned to her left with Squatt visible in the background.
"Oh, wow! That's a new one!" admired Squatt.
"What shall you name him, your Rottenness?" asked Baboo, raising his right index finger and nodding.
"I had Finster base him mostly off of the stonehenge from this old book," revealed Rita, holding up the same book Finster showed her earlier. The page of the old stonehenge was shown, before shifting over to the new monster, "Because of that, he will be called Stone Hedge."
"Stone Hedge? That name really suits me fine," The golem monster, now named Stone Hedge, approved, while beating on his chest like a gorilla, "What are my orders?"
"Stay here on standby," advised Rita, lightly tapping her scepter onto Stone Hedge's head before turning away, "We will…" Having emerged from the workshop and now standing behind her Repulsascope on the balcony while Baboo, Squatt, Finster, and Stone Hedge watched from the back, she gestured both arms while shouting, freezing when finished, "…strike when I find the perfect opening! Get ready for defeat, you Power Brats!"
(Callan's Castle)
Back inside the interior of Callan's Castle, the tour had begun. A good number of students were currently exploring the main hallway first.
"And these here are rare tapestries," explained Tour Guide, "They were banners belonging to the medieval family living here hundreds of years ago," As he pressed a question, the students all listened carefully, "Can anyone tell me what year it was?"Just as quickly, Edward quickly raised a hand, "Yes, lad?"
"Of course," Gordon said to himself, quietly.
"The year 1243," answered Edward.
"My, that's correct," smiled Tour Guide, "You sure know your history."
"Thanks, I've been studying the history of this castle over the summer time at the Knapford library," revealed Edward.
"Really?" Tour Guide uttered, who was impressed to say the least, "I'd like to hear what you know sometime later."
Later on, the students and Tour Guide were now in the main throne room.
"This is the King's throne room," Tour Guide stated, motioning his arms outward.
"We kinda guessed that one," muttered Gordon, unimpressed.
"What was that, young man?" The voice of Tour Guide responded.
"Oh!" gasped Gordon, surprised by the fact he had been overheard, "N-Nothing, sir!"
Tour Guide folded his arms before turning back to the group.
"Right this way, we'll take a trip through the hallways to the bedrooms next," offered Tour Guide.
The group soon arrived inside one of the major bedrooms—it was a woman's bedroom. They would visit the man's bedroom once they were done there. While Emily, Rosie, Mavis, and even Daisy all admired the beautiful dresses, one particular dress stood out amongst the rest; a white and purple gown adorned with several diamonds and small robes around the skirt that was hanging inside a locked glass cabinet. Tour Guide noticed them gathered around and spoke up.
"Now this is a very interesting find… This was the very gown worn by Queen Anastasia on the day of her coronation," he explained eagerly.
"This thing's almost 800 years old?" asked Rosie in amazement.
"Correct," Tour Guide confirmed, as he added some additional trivia, "King Anakin decreed that all future generations work to preserve the dress his beloved wore when she first took the throne at his side."
"Wow," admired Thomas.
"Of course, nothing can last forever, but we've been adamant to upholding that final request from the former King," sighed Tour Guide.
Having heard enough, Emily stared at the gown in awe, lining up her own reflection in the glass to make it look like she was wearing it herself. Even from that angle, she thought it fit her to a tee. Meanwhile, Dodge and Splatter were feeling naughty and sneakily went through the nearby drawers. Pretty soon, Splatter pulled out a woman's bra and Dodge pulled out underwear.
"Hey, ladies! Check out what we found!" Dodge shouted teasingly, as he showed off the underwear. His yelling got everyone else's attention, "Cool, isn't it?"
"Oh, the indignity!" groaned Gordon, facepalming.
"Oh, brother," James muttered to himself.
"That's so not funny," concluded Henry.
Edward shielded Thomas and Percy's eyes with an unhappy expression on his face. A tall, green-haired boy named BoCo Vickers, another green-haired boy, but shorter in height, by the name of Derek Clayton, Duck and Oliver Collett—both being teenage boys with green hair like BoCo and Derek, and with Duck's hair being wild-looking and he wore a blue jacket with the word 'GWR' stitched on it—each looked away, embarrassed. Toby and a few of the other male students gave blank stares. Meanwhile, Emily, Rosie, Mavis, and 'even' Daisy were deeply 'not' amused. Of course, Diesel thought that what Dodge and Splatter were doing was funny, of course.
"Nice one, you two!" chortled Diesel.
Dodge and Splatter then imagined how hot the girls would look in their bras and underwear. They let out low, wheezy snickers just before a red-faced Emily stepped forward in embarrassed anger, obviously about to give the pair a piece of her mind.
"That's not funny, you perverts!" snapped Emily.
"Aww, what's wrong with having a little fun?" insisted Splatter, before touching the side of Emily's face with his left hand, "Besides, I bet you would look great in those."
"Ew! Don't get any ideas." Emily squealed, who was grossed out.
"Oh, really?" Dodge chuckled lasciviously.
Emily merely fumed. While Rosie and Daisy were also quite upset, it was Mavis who was the maddest and most embarrassed of all. All of a sudden, she furiously pulled out a huge mallet from out of nowhere. From there, she went and smashed the two misbehaving Smelters students and caused them to fall unconscious. Everyone, including Toby and even Diesel, stared at Mavis with shocked looks on their faces. How did she do that, anyway?
"Mavis… Oh boy…" breathed Toby, admiring the fuming Mavis over what she did, "How did you-?"
The blonde-haired girl then dropped the hammer and simply let out a contented sigh.
"Those two boys are such perverts," she grumbled.
"Note to self… Never make a girl mad," thought James.
As the tour took everyone to another part of the castle, namely the courtyard, Emily looked over to see Splatter, Dodge, Paxton, and Sidney catering to Daisy, with the former two feeding her the same grapes and water she demanded earlier, and the latter two fanning her with large leaves on sticks. While Splatter and Dodge were obeying without hesitation, Paxton and even Sidney looked fed up.
"Fan steadily!" ordered Daisy, "You ruin my tediously groomed tresses!"
Emily sighed in irritation, and turned back to the task at hand. Looking down at her clipboard, she observed all the other students arranging the equipment around the castle courtyard. She first directed her attention to Duck.
"Duck!" she called out, resulting in the boy in question, Duck, looking over, "Are those archery targets set up?"
"I'm missing a stand for one of them!" responded Duck, carrying four large targets towards three wooden stands, "Any idea when it should get here?"
"Don't worry, Oliver should be back any minute with the last one!" Emily called back.
It was then she turned her attention towards the jousting track, where Pip, Emma, and another girl their age with short orange hair were working.
"Are those lances all padded up, girls?" pressed Emily.
"They're coming along great, Emily!" grinned Pip, "We're making them much sturdier than the old batch. No splinters this time!"
"And we've got enough padding to keep anyone from getting hurt!" The orange-haired girl, Marion Fitzpatrick, chimed in, "Just hope nobody goes too crazy."
"Same," agreed Emily.
She then moved through the courtyard, checking in with Percy and Toby, who were managing the horses.
"Everything okay over here?" she asked, trying to sound more confident than she felt.
"They're excited! We just need to make sure they don't get spooked when the jousting starts," Percy nodded, adjusting a saddle, "Easy there, girl."
"Remember to keep the reins loose enough," advised Toby, "They'll be more cooperative that way."
"Don't worry, we got this under control," promised Emily, before casting a gaze at an excited-looking Percy, "Am I right, Percy?"
"I'll do whatever you say, Queen Emily," joked Percy.
Emily giggled from being called a 'Queen', then turned and waved to Thomas. Nodding, Thomas turned and spoke to Gordon and James.
"It looks like we'll be ready to begin shortly," he advised.
"Perfect!" grinned Gordon.
"I bet I'll win the horse-riding race!" bragged James.
"Pah! You wish!"
"Well this all seems to be going smoothly, so if you'll excuse me…" Toby said, before slipping away.
"What do you suppose he's up to?" questioned Emily.
Percy noticed Toby quickly swipe a small bouquet of flowers from one of the beds and hold it behind his back, and saw that he was slowly making his way towards the bow and arrow storage shed, where Mavis was with some of the other students.
"I think he's going for it," grinned Percy, pointing towards the brown-haired boy.
Toby meanwhile was taking slow breaths as he approached the shed, the bouquet clutched behind his back tightly.
"Come on, you can do this… Just walk up steady, nice big smile, and ask her out," Toby was telling himself, blushing like crazy, "Oh, Thomas 'better' not have been bluffing about this working for him."
Back with Percy, one of the horses was making a fuss again and fighting against the reins, while he was sitting on the saddle. James sat on the other.
"Hey! Easy there, girl!" struggled Percy, trying to keep control, "Little help here somebody?!"
Emily saw Percy's predicament, but was busy with something, so she turned to the nearest person, which happened to be Murdoch.
"Murdoch, I need to check in with Oliver about a missing archery stand," explained Emily, "Could you help Percy before he gets hurt?"
"Certainly," replied Murdoch, but briefly stopped, "Hold on, I think there was something my parents warned me about before leaving today… Oh well, I'm sure I'll remember what it was at some point."
With that, he ran to the two horses and aided Percy a little but by (rest of description).
"There you go, Percy," he said proudly, "Just needed a little coaxing."
That was all Percy needed to hear. As Murdoch stood beside Percy's horse, his nose started to twitch and he sniffed once or twice.
"Mm? Murdoch, is something the matter?" asked Percy.
"I-I just re-remembered something," coughed Murdoch, as his nose twitched some more and became very runny, "I think I'm…allergic to horses!"
Unable to take it any longer, Murdoch finally let loose a loud sneeze. Unfortunately, both horses reacted with terror over the sudden loud noise, and before James and Percy knew what was happening, the horses started neighing and running around in wild fashion.
"H-Hey! Take it easy, you crazy mule!" wailed James, before being thrown off, "Waaaah!"
The horse Percy was riding also threw the green-haired boy off. James and Percy hit the ground at the same time, unhurt but very dazed. Both horses started to rampage throughout the area, knocking stuff over and damaging other parts while also putting others in possible harm's way. Toby was just about to approach Mavis with the flowers when he was pulled aside by Murdoch; his bouquet falling onto the ground in pieces. Toby briefly looked at his empty hands in dismay before acknowledging Murdoch.
"Toby, sorry to bother you, but we need your help," requested Murdoch quickly, "The horses are on a rampage due to my allergies accidentally frightening them!"
"Oh, this can't be happening," mumbled Toby, "Murdoch, how could you not know you're allergic to horses?"
"It isn't my fault that I forgot my parents warned me about being careful around horses. Besides, Emily was the one who asked me to help out," Murdoch corrected, scratching his chin with a finger.
Toby sighed with dismay, but agreed to help. Just then, there was a scream coming from the archery grounds…
"AAAAAAHHHHH!"
The loud shriek came from Pip, who along with Emma and Marion, were running from the spooked horses. The girls threw their padded lances to the side in reflex, only for them to hit the archery targets, causing them to start rolling along into the horses' path. Seeing the obstruction, both horses changed direction, with one knocking over the jousting fence, and the other narrowly missing Mavis, who hid inside the storage shed just in time.
"Oh no!" cried Rosie, before spotting a running Toby nearby, "Toby, come and help me calm them down!"
Toby overheard the call and did as he was told. Emerging from the nearby doorway were Daisy and Diesel, growing surprised by what they saw going on in the courtyard, which was total chaos.
"What's going on here?" blinked Daisy absentmindedly.
"I was expecting to come out to participate in archery," added Diesel, as he saw the mess left behind by the horses, "Instead, we come here to find the place in a total mess."
Emily, meanwhile, was frantically rushing about, trying to de-escalate the hysteria and pandemonium going on around the courtyard.
"Please, everyone!" yelled Emily frantically, "You have to calm down!" She then saw she was in the path of one of the horses, "No!"
Just before Emily got trampled to death, Rosie got in the path and held her arms out near the frightened horse.
"Easy, girl! Easy!" comforted Rosie, as the horse reared back on her hind legs while neighing violently, "Shh! It's alright," Smiling, she then approached and stroked the animal when it was safe to, "There, does that feel good now?"
"H-How did you-?" gawked Emily.
"Little trick from my brother when we visited an old ranch back in America," Rosie admitted, looking over, "Riding those horses was a lot of fun."
Toby, meanwhile, was successful in calming down the other horse. He and Rosie then led both horses back to the stable. Even so, the destruction left behind was bad, and it was going to ruin the fun for everyone.
"Oh, what a mess," bemoaned Henry.
"This is a disaster," came from Edward glumly.
Emily also knew that it was all a disaster indeed; a disaster that was mostly her fault because she asked someone who was allergic to horses to help out. Just then, things got worse for her when she heard laughter, and the laughter was coming from Daisy and Diesel.
"Oh yeah, you sure showed us, 'Queen Emily'!" taunted Daisy.
"You showed all of us that you don't know how to rule, and that Daisy and I are going to win this contest easily!" put in Diesel.
The pair then erupted into louder, harder laughter. Dodge and Splatter both joined in soon after. Emily turned away, the mocking laughter from the four Smelters students echoing in her ears. The courtyard, once vibrant with promise, now looked like a disaster area. With a quick glance back at her friends, she fled from the area with her face red with embarrassment.
"Emily, wait!" Thomas called out, but was ignored, "Emily…"
(Rita's Palace)
Over at the Lunar Palace on the Moon, particularly onto the upper tower…
"This is great!" The voice of Rita screeched gleefully, before she was shown alone near the balcony railing, speaking before turning to the left, "Time to show those pesky 'Poser' Rangers how unkind history can be! Stone Hedge!" As she addressed her monster, Stone Hedge stood ready to move out inside the main chamber, "Go forth, Stone Hedge! And don't fail me!"
"As you command!" obeyed Stone Hedge.
Between Earth and the Lunar surface of the Moon in outer space, a yellow ball of energy shot out and headed towards Earth. Where would the monster land? Well…
(Castle Grounds)
After searching around the castle grounds, Thomas finally spotted Emily sitting by the lakeside. She was curled up with her head buried in her arms.
"What was I thinking?" Emily sulked to herself, "How could I ever think I could be a good leader like that?"
"Emily…?" worried Thomas, as he walked over and sat down next to the distraught girl, "Hey, don't be so down. It was all an accident."
"I know," replied Emily glumly, "An accident that was 'my' fault…"
"You weren't aware of Murdoch's allergy to horses," soothed Thomas.
"I 'should've' been though," Emily exclaimed harshly, looking down, "What kind of leader puts the people he or she is meant to care for in harm's way?"
"That's not how I see it," reassured Thomas, causing Emily to look up and at him, "Yes, things went south because of a mistake, but you didn't just stand around and let it happen. You did your best to calm everyone down and stop things from escalating."
"Thomas…" whispered Emily, just as she felt his hand take her own, "Huh?"
"We all make mistakes, but you've never let that define you before," encouraged Thomas.
Emily felt a smile tug at her lips at Thomas' words. Her determination was rising to the surface once again as she uncurled from her position.
"And I'm not going to let it now!" she declared.
"That's the spirit!" smiled Thomas, hooking an arm around her shoulder and pulling her in, "That's the Emily I know and love."
Emily turned to face Thomas with a grateful look.
"Thanks so much, Tommy, you're the best," Emily praised, as she moved in and kissed Thomas on the lips.
Thomas immediately returned the kiss. Just as Thomas and Emily returned to their feet and prepared to return to the rest of the class, a sizable earthquake suddenly started up.
"T-T-Trembling Tracks!" quivered Emily.
"N-N-Now what?!" demanded Thomas.
The question was met with maniacal laughter as the same yellow ball energy shot down from the sky and onto the ground. When the smoke cleared away, Stone Hedge made himself known to both Tidmouth Teens.
"That would be me, Red Ranger!" bragged Stone Hedge, as focus went towards the rock solid parts of his body, "I have been created for the purpose of destroying all of you and conquering this island!" He motioned both arms out in a menacing fashion, "You may call me Stone Hedge!"
"Stone Hedge?" repeated Emily, "As in the Stonehenge monument?" She tilted her head skeptically and raised an eyebrow at the sight of the monster, "You look a lot uglier than the real thing though."
"I think we're gonna need some help with this one," noted Thomas, before activating his wrist communicator, "Percy, Toby, Rosie! Where are you three? Emily and I have a monster problem here!"
(Callan's Castle)
Back at the castle itself, there was mass chaos going on at the time—people were running away in terror due to Putty Patrollers attacking the place. Percy managed to duck and hide behind a corner long enough to answer his communicator.
"Sorry, Thomas, but you kinda got us at a bad time," he pointed out, "We have Putties attacking the place, and everyone's panicking over it."
"Putties?!" The voice of Thomas responded.
"Yup, and I'm afraid if Toby, Rosie, and I morph at this point, we'll be spotted," fretted Percy.
(Castle Grounds)
Back over with Thomas and Emily, they silently acknowledged this to be a troublesome situation—which Stone Hedge knew fully well.
"What's the matter? You don't wanna be caught with your pants down?" he mocked heartlessly.
Emily, however, was having none of it and immediately grabbed Thomas' arm and brought his wrist communicator to her face and started to speak.
"Listen, Percy, I have an idea," began Emily, "Meet me and Thomas outside near the lakeside with Rosie and Toby."
(Callan's Castle)
Back with Percy in his hiding spot…
"We'll be able to morph there without being seen!" The voice of Emily instructed, as Percy spotted Toby nearby, "Use the horses to make it look like you're just getting them to safety!"
"You know, that could work," mumbled Percy thoughtfully, "Alright, leave it to us."
(Castle Grounds)
Back with Thomas and Emily…
"Okay, but be here as quick as you can," requested Emily, before letting Thomas' arm go, "So, how'd I do?"
"That's pretty good," commented Thomas, as Emily smiled back, "I think you might still be Queen material after all."
Unfortunately, Emily didn't have any time to respond to the words from Thomas as she gasped and saw a large stone arm come straight for them, forcing them to dive away and avoid Stone Hedge's attack—in slow motion, Thomas dove to the left, while Emily dove to the right.
(Callan's Castle)
Back inside the castle, Rosie was busy looking for Toby and Percy while avoiding the flood of people fleeing from the invading Putty Patrollers.
"Come on… Where are you two?" Rosie asked herself, before she was suddenly grabbed and pulled behind a corner, "Gah!"
Fortunately, she wasn't captured by Putties, but rather pulled aside by both Percy and Toby.
"Oh, it's only you two… Boy, you scared me a little bit," gasped Rosie, yet relieved.
"Come on, we're heading to the stables to get the horses and use them to reach Thomas and Emily," whispered Percy.
Rosie was aghast, "What?! But what about our classmates and all of the castle staff?"
"Don't worry, this is all part of Emily's plan," promised Toby, "At least, I hope she has a plan. Well, anyway, she and Thomas will explain it better once we find them."
That didn't reassure Rosie all that much, but if Emily did indeed have a plan, she would trust it and hope for the best. From there, they went to find the stables and the horses.
(Castle Grounds)
Back in the outdoors, Stone Hedge was wasting no time in attacking the powerless Thomas and Emily, throwing three purple crown-shaped spheres at the pair and causing large explosions to surround them as they yelled out and got thrown upward before hitting the ground.
"Where are they?!" cried Thomas.
"They'll be here!" insisted Emily.
"Not in enough time!" laughed Stone Hedge, before stopping, "Huh?"
He looked to his right to see two horses racing forth in the distance. Paying them no mind, he turned back only to see Thomas and Emily suddenly gone.
"Hey! Where'd you go, brats?!" he yelled angrily.
When he obviously got no answer, Stone Hedge began scouring the area to find the two teenagers in hopes of beating them within an inch of their lives. Within the nearby rock formation, Thomas and Emily peeked out from a small alcove, just out of sight.
"Okay, overgrown lunkhead, just keep going…" whispered Thomas, as Stone Hedge walked on past, completely missing him. He and Emily breathed a sigh of relief, "Good, he's gone…"
"Gee, that jerk's more stubborn than a bar of soap," panted Emily, "Now where are the others?"
The sound of hooves clopping against gravel caused Thomas and Emily to look nearby. Seeing Percy, Rosie, and Toby arrive on the courtyard horses; Percy riding solo, with Rosie and Toby doubling.
"Whoa, girl!" called Percy, as he carefully tugged at the reins and brought his horse to a stop, "Whoa!"
Rosie got her horse to do the same thing. Once they all dismounted, Percy and Toby ushered both horses away towards an isolated spot next to the rock formation before the two of them joined Thomas, Emily, and Rosie.
"Okay, the horses will be safe back here," assured Toby, "So what's the plan, Emily? You 'do' have a plan, right?"
"As I told Percy already, we can safely morph here," explained Emily, "No one else is in sight."
"Plus with Stone Hedge over there looking to stomp us, we'll need to split up so he's kept busy while the rest of us go and help everyone at the castle," added Thomas.
Percy, Rosie, and Toby silently nodded at each other before turning back to Thomas and Emily.
"Sounds like a plan to me!" smiled Rosie.
"Great! Since Stone Hedge is already gunning for me and Thomas, we'll deal with him. Rosie, we'll need an extra pair of hands to keep him at bay, so you're with us," stated Emily, as Rosie gave a thumbs up. She then turned to Percy and Toby as they listened, "You two head back to the castle and fend off those Putties."
"As you wish, 'your Majesty'," Percy joked, giving an exaggerated bow.
"The time for worshipping is later," chuckled Emily as she pulled off her Power Morpher, with the others following suit, "Ready, everyone?"
"Ready!" Thomas, Percy, Rosie, and Toby all responded.
With that said, the five Sudrian teenagers all thrusted their Power Morphers out.
"It's Morphin Time!" declared Emily.
(Morphing sequence)
A stylized lightning bolt struck in front of a purple circle, behind was a black background. Crackling around the lightning bolt and circle were blue energy bolts (with some yellow and pink also present). The morphing sequence was as followed; each teenager was seen holding out his/her open Power Morpher inside the image of a giant open Power Morpher, with the teenager being surrounded by Ranger-colored electricity shown within what would have been the Morpher's red inside area.
"Mastodon!" called Percy.
"Pterodactyl!" called Rosie.
"Triceratops!" called Toby.
"Sabertooth Tiger!" called Emily.
"Tyrannosaurus!" called Thomas.
After the morphing calls ended, it zoomed in on Thomas' face, over which appeared to be a fiery red grid; the grid split vertically to reveal the Red Ranger helmet, then it faded into white with a negative color effect.
(End morph)
Red Ranger, Yellow Ranger, and Pink Ranger each did their signature pose as Stone Hedge watched in the foreground.
(Callan's Castle)
Meanwhile, back around the castle grounds, lots of terrified people were running away while being chased by Putties. Before anything bad could happen, Black Ranger was seen free falling from the sky with lots of trees around, followed by Blue Ranger free falling beside the castle's stable. Now on the ground, both Power Rangers did their signature pose as Putties gathered around them.
"Oh my gosh! Are those-?!" gasped Marion.
"Yeah, two of the Power Rangers!" confirmed Duck, "I'm surprised to see them all the way out here."
"No distance is too far for the Power Rangers!" Percy declared proudly, pointing his thumb at himself while causing Toby to fold his arms and roll his eyes from beneath his helmet. He observed the approaching Putties, "Now, let's get these guys!"
And with that, both Power Rangers started to fight the Putties as some of the Sodor High School students stayed behind to watch the action.
(Castle Grounds)
Back near the lake, Red Ranger, armed with his Blade Blaster in Sword mode, leaped up and attempted to slice down onto Stone Hedge's head, only for the monster's large stone-like hand to effortlessly grab his Blade Blaster and swing him around like a rag doll, before swatting him away with sparks flying. Stone Hedge quickly turned to block Yellow Ranger's Blade Blaster, before sparkingly smacking her away, too. Leaping up, Pink Ranger tried going for a surprise sneak attack from behind using her Blade Blaster, only for Stone Hedge to suddenly spin and crush her in a clapping motion, causing sparks to gush out from his hands. The Blade Blaster in Sword mode also hit the ground in a useless state.
"Nice try… Hehehe," chuckled Stone Hedge coldly.
With that, he tossed the injured Pink Ranger onto the rough ground. She rolled along the gravel before stopping in a weak, crouching pose while Red Ranger and Yellow Ranger both ran up to help her.
"Rosie!" called Emily.
"You alright?" asked Thomas.
"No, not really—OW!" groaned Rosie.
"Watch this!" gloated Stone Hedge, as the crown on his head started to shine gold. Bringing both hands to his head, he started firing purple, crown-shaped spheres to his left, "Have a taste of my secret power!"
The spheres soared through Red Ranger, Yellow Ranger, and Pink Ranger, causing them to spark and smoke. They continued to smoke and spark, causing the three of them to be lifted off their feet and thrown backwards as fireballs erupted in front of them before they landed on the ground painfully.
(Rita's Palace)
On the balcony of the Lunar Palace, Rita looked to the slight right while laughing deeply. She then turned around and appeared to talk to Goldar while Squatt and Baboo were messing around with a remote.
"Stone Hedge is winning!" Rita beamed proudly, "And my Putties are keeping the other Rangers busy!"
"Amazing!" squeaked Squatt, standing in front of the pendulum. While talking, he blinked, shook his head back and forth, jerked both arms up, gave one quick headshake, then raised his arms, "Isn't history an amazing concept, Baboo?"
"It sure is," agreed Baboo, motioning his hands then making flapping gestures with them, "Especially if it takes down the Power Rangers."
And with that, Rita stood at the front, smiling, as Baboo, Squatt, Finster, and Goldar, all in the back, were visibly excited by what they saw going on planetside.
"This time, things will go my way!" vowed Rita, "Get ready to lose, Rangers!"
(Callan's Castle)
Back around the old castle, Black Ranger kicked a Putty away to the left, spin kicked another, blocked a Bladehand Putty's attack before punching the blade down and then punching the Putty in the face, ducking a flying spinning Putty kick and countering with a high kick, hitting the Putty in the face, then spin kicked it away. Black Ranger backhanded a Ballhand Putty away, before blocking a Putty punch and countering with a punch to the gut, hitting there once, then a couple more times. The Bladehand Putty was not quick enough to recover as Black Ranger spin kicked it, causing the mook to spin and fall down.
"Have a nice 'trip'!" mocked Percy, as he posed before easing up from noticing something, "Huh?"
Just then, another Ballhand Putty wound up and threw a punch at Black Ranger, only for him to counter with a roundhouse kick to the Putty's head and knocking the clay-made mook onto the ground.
"I guess you should've quit while you were 'a head'!" quipped Percy.
As he turned around, a second Putty had approached and delivered an uppercut, to which Black Ranger flipped backwards at the last second, causing it to miss and flip itself onto the ground.
"Nice arm," Percy stated again.
Two more Putties then rushed him; one was rushing from the right, and the other was rushing from the left. Before he was hit, Black Ranger simply leapt out of the way, causing both Putties' attacks to connect to themselves.
"Your aim's great, but only when you sock each other!" smirked Percy.
Then a Bladehand Putty swung at Black Ranger, only for him to easily block the blade and rip it off the Putty's body, taking the whole lower arm with it. As several more Putties charged at him, Black Ranger lined up his swing, and brought the severed blade around in an arc motion, sparkingly slicing the Putties one-by-one as they fell over.
"You all looked like you could do with a 'trim'!" chuckled Percy, as he turned towards Toby, who had just cartwheeled in from the left after swatting another Putty away, "Pretty good, right?"
"Oh please, you are hopeless," sighed Toby, readying his stance.
"Hey, I'm just trying to keep the mood light," Percy pointed out, backhanding another Putty without even looking, "HOOAH!"
From there, Blue Ranger flipped in from the left, side-flipped, then back-flipped three times, kicking away Putties in the process. He finished one more backflip, tripped a Putty, blocked a Putty and gripped its arms and fell over to flip it away, then backflip kicked away two Bladehand Putties in a repeat as he landed and posed. The remaining Putties continued to circle around the two Power Rangers, but their numbers had shrunken a fair bit. Some of the students who remained behind to watch had grown hopeful. Blue Ranger and Black Ranger, with their backs together, were about to make a move on the circling, dancing Putties when they heard a loud shriek.
"What was that?" pressed Toby.
"Sounds like someone screamed," replied Percy naively.
Both Rangers looked up at a balcony on one of the upper floors of the castle, where Mavis was backing away from more Putties. What's worse, the wall of the balcony had been blown up, leaving no protection from falling.
"It's Mavis, and she's in danger!" The voice of Toby realized, as, inside the Queen's bedroom, three Putties were approaching. Back below, he looked to Black Ranger and clenched his hand into a fist, "Percy, can you handle these Putties by yourself?"
"Do you have to ask?" encouraged Percy, nodding and motioning his own hand into a fist, "Go save Mavis and fast."
Blue Ranger nodded back, then turned and ran off as Black Ranger, still surrounded by dancing Putties, got into a pose.
"Come at me, claybrains!" challenged Percy,
In response, a Bladehand Putty tries to hit Black Ranger, but he blocked and elbowed the mook away, before turning to face another Putty. On the balcony of the Queen's bedroom, Mavis continued to back away from the three approaching Putties.
"G-Get away!" begged Mavis.
That caused one of the Putties to take a big step forward while raising both arms in a menacing fashion, which, out of reflex, caused Mavis to try taking a step back—only for her foot to touch groundless air. This caused her to lose her balance and fall backwards off the edge, screaming as she fell down to her certain death. However, it wasn't meant to be, seeing as Blue Ranger flew through the blue sky and into an aerial flip before he caught her just in the nick of time. The three Putties approached the balcony and looked down to see what happened, witnessing Blue Ranger land on the ground with Mavis safely in his arms.
"You gonna be okay, miss?" Toby asked, making sure he disguised his voice while Mavis was dead silent, "That was quite the fall, eh?"
Mavis never responded; she was so shocked by what nearly happened to her that she just fainted without thanking her savior. Blue Ranger was then approached by Emma and Pip.
"Is Mavis okay?" urged Emma.
"She'll be fine," replied Toby, again disguising his voice while handing Mavis over, "She just fainted from the shock."
"Oh, thank goodness," sighed Pip, before she and her sister took Mavis by the arms, "We'll get her out of here."
"Good luck!" pleaded Emma.
With that, Emma and Pip both carried Mavis out of harm's way and to join their fellow classmates. Black Ranger, meanwhile, was seen connecting three kicks on a Putty's chest before shoulder tackling it over, causing the weak mook to vanish. With all the Putties beaten, Black Ranger and Blue Ranger went to meet up and figure out what to do next.
"Alright, the Putties have been dealt with, and our classmates are fine!" acknowledged Percy.
"Now we need to go and help Thomas, Emily, and Rosie with that monster," added Toby, before he and Black Ranger look away from each other and cross both arms, "Let's go!"
Both Blue Ranger and Black Ranger were engulfed in beams of light (Percy: Black, Toby: Blue) before teleporting away.
(Castle Grounds)
Back somewhere outside the castle, Stone Hedge rushed forth like a mad bull while hitting and knocking Red Ranger, Yellow Ranger, and Pink Ranger each away as they fell down. Turning around and making the crown on his head shine again, Stone Hedge launched more spheres to the left and caused several bursts of sparks and smoke to erupt around the three Rangers as they got knocked off their feet again. The monster laughed with delight.
"I don't see how my Empress's previous minions could ever have trouble with you fools," he scoffed, while Red Ranger tried to stand back up and both Pink Ranger and Yellow Ranger stayed down, "You three aren't as tough as I heard."
"O-Oh yeah?" gasped Thomas weakly, "Just you wait and see!"
"I won't need to wait," assured Stone Hedge, as he scrapped his feet along the grassy field four times, "I'm finishing you kids off this second!"
Raising his rocky arms, Stone Hedge bellowed out and took five big steps forward before, all of a sudden, Black Ranger and Blue Ranger both flip under the blue sky, with the former throwing forth a punch, and the latter kicking both feet forth. Black Ranger's fist connected with Stone Hedge's neck, and both of Blue Ranger's feet hit the monster's chest three times. Stone Hedge grunted as he staggered a few steps back with his chest smoking and slightly cracked.
"Wh-What was that?" exclaimed Stone Hedge.
Black Ranger and Blue Ranger landed and posed for two seconds before easing up as Red Ranger, Pink Ranger, and Yellow Ranger ran up to greet their teammates.
"Percy, Toby, you two made it!" praised Rosie.
"Are the students and everyone else back at the castle alright?" urged Thomas.
"Other than a very close call, no sweat," answered Percy, while Blue Ranger rubbed the back of his helmet in a flustered sort of way, "Mavis almost fell to her doom, but Toby here saved her."
"Well, Toby, look at you," teased Rosie, who had her left fist on her hip before nudging at Blue Ranger a little, "The hero rescues the damsel."
"Let's focus," advised Emily, nodding at Pink Ranger before turning away, "We have a fake stonehenge to beat."
"In that case, let's get 'im, guys!" cried Thomas, raising his right fist.
The five Rangers posed then charged to the left, while Stone Hedge yelled out and ran forth to engage. Reaching the Power Rangers, he brought an arm down on Yellow Ranger, who cartwheeled away, Blue Ranger jump kicked, but was blocked and he got sparkily smashed by a big fist in return. Stone Hedge ducked under Red Ranger's kick, then maneuvered Black Ranger into flipping over his left arm before blocking Pink Ranger's kick. Through the smoke, Pink Ranger staggered back, gestured her arms with a grunt, then jumped up, throwing punches forth in a triple repeat. Stone Hedge turned and got punched in the chest by Pink Ranger as she landed, then sparkily smashed her upper body with his left hand. Pink Ranger blocked the golem monster's next strike, but while holding onto his arm, Stone Hedge used the leverage to begin picking her up.
"Wha-?!" panicked Rosie, as her feet were lifted off the ground.
With Pink Ranger held high over his head, Stone Hedge began to spin around, counterclockwise, causing the other four Rangers to back away. Stone Hedge continued carrying and spinning Pink Ranger around and around.
"Around and around she goes!" sang Stone Hedge, "Where she stops, only I know!"
He finally stopped spinning, flinging Pink Ranger into the air while she screamed. She slammed into both Red Ranger and Black Range, spark bursting both of them down as they each fell and rolled before briefly laying on the ground.
"You okay, Rosie?" pressed Thomas.
"I'll tell ya when the spinning stops…" groaned Rosie, slowly and wobbly getting up and off her two teammates, "At least you and Percy broke my fall."
"Guys!" The voice of Emily echoed, as she and Blue Ranger ran up, "Hang in there!"
"Here's another present from me!" laughed Stone Hedge, bringing both hands to the crown on his hand. The headgear once again started flashing gold, "Take this!"
More purple, crown-shaped spheres were fired off, causing multiple sparky explosions to erupt around the five Rangers as they were thrown to the smoking ground. Stone Hedge continued to laugh as he clapped his hands together and slowly walked over.
"Arrgh! This is crazy!" complained Percy, punching at the ground once in frustration, "We're not getting anywhere with this guy!"
"That large, rocky body makes Stone Hedge hard to hurt and allows him to hit us harder," added Rosie weakly.
"Even so, he has to have some sort of weak spot!" figured Toby.
"How about hitting him in the groin?" suggested Percy.
"What?! No way!" squeaked Rosie, repulsed.
"It makes sense," retorted Percy, trying to be smart, "The groin is the weakest part of any guy."
"Stop saying 'groin'!" Rosie whined desperately.
Yellow Ranger looked thoughtful over a potential 'weak spot' of the monster, before an answer came to her.
"I know what it might be," realized Emily.
Red Ranger and Black Ranger looked over in surprise, followed by both Pink Ranger and Blue Ranger.
"The crown on his head," elaborated Emily, making a few gestures with her right hand, "It has to be the source of his power. If Percy can blast it to smithereens with his Power Axe, it could weaken the monster enough for the Power Blaster to finish him," As she finished going over her theory, Red Ranger and Black Ranger looked at each other, then back, "It might be our only hope of beating him!"
"I say it's worth a shot!" acknowledged Thomas, giving a thumbs up.
"Definitely!" beamed Rosie.
"Percy, it's all up to you!" encouraged Toby.
With that advice on hand, Black Ranger was then back on his feet with the summoned Power Axe in Cannon mode in his hands as he cocked the weapon and took aim. Yellow Ranger, Pink Ranger, Red Ranger, and Blue Ranger stood behind and watched him carefully.
"One Stone Hedge dethroning, come right up!" proclaimed Percy, making sure his aim would not be off on Stone Hedge's crown, "Okay… Just take aim, and…" He fired off several purple lasers from the tip of his Power Weapon, "…FIRE!"
The purple lasers struck Stone Hedge, causing him to burst with sparks as he roared out in a mixture of surprise and pain. A final purple laser, however, connected with its target—the crown on the golem monster's head—causing an explosion that resulted in his shattered crown landing on the ground in two halves. With the source of his power gone, Stone Hedge, his chest smoking, was clutching the top of his head while flailing about wildly over the loss of the crown. Black Ranger, still armed with his Power Axe in Cannon mode, shuffled to the background as the other four Rangers regrouped around Red Ranger, each with their own Power Weapons.
"Great job, Percy," praised Thomas, before posing with his Power Sword, "Now, let's finish this blockhead off!"
"Right!" Percy, Emily, Toby, and Rosie obeyed, getting into similar poses with their respective weapons.
And with that, the five core Power Rangers each connected their Power Weapons in a circle and surging with electricity. Black Ranger shifted his Power Axe into Cannon mode before throwing it upward.
"Power Axe!" announced Percy.
The Power Axe floated up and hovered in the air. Pink Ranger crossed her Power Bow to her side, and then flung it upward.
"Power Bow!" announced Rosie.
The Power Bow materialized in a blue flash of energy, connected across the barrel of the Power Axe blaster. Yellow Ranger twirled both of her Power Daggers, crossed her arms, and then threw them upward.
"Power Daggers!" announced Emily.
Both Power Daggers materialized in a blue flash of energy, connected to the bottom side of the Power Bow. Blue Ranger held both ends of his Power Lance in the air, and then threw them upward.
"Power Lance!" announced Toby.
Both Power Lances materialized in a blue flash of energy, connected to the bottom side of the Power Bow next to the Power Daggers. Red Ranger, as he looked upward, gestured both arms while holding his Power Sword before going and leaping up.
"Power Sword!" announced Thomas.
Red Ranger floated up to the combined weapons and prepared to add the Power Sword to them. The Power Sword flashed with red power as it connected with the combined weapons, forming the full Power Blaster in a flash of blue energy. Red Ranger dropped back down from the air with the formed Power Blaster in his hand. After Red Ranger landed, the other four Rangers joined his side, each grabbing onto the Power Blaster or (in the girls' cases) touching his shoulders.
"Power Rangers!" The five Rangers concluded in unison.
(Rita's Palace)
On the balcony of her palace, Rita's eyes widened as she gasped a word or so with a gaping frown.
"Oh, not again…" she mumbled halfheartedly.
(Castle Grounds)
Back in the castle grounds, Stone Hedge recoiled and stammered in horror, but then ran forth in pure desperation. The five Rangers remained together as the Power Blaster began to unleash five beams of power.
"FIRE!" The five Rangers yelled at the same time.
A combined beam (purple at the front, red fire at center, blue edges, yellow and pink spiral outside) blasted across the whole area. The combined beam struck Stone Hedge, causing him to yell in pain while appearing to have a superimposed explosion erupt over him until, with a dying groan, he fell down with orange electricity crackling and blue energy surging from within, finally erupting outward, shards of blue energy flying out, leaving nothing behind. With the day won, the five Rangers posed really far away with the royal garden looming behind them.
"Power Rangers!" Thomas and the others declared victoriously.
(Rita's Palace)
Over at the Lunar Palace on the Moon, Rita could be heard groaning with displeasure. Inside, she rushed forward, appearing aghast, then stopped, clutching her forehead briefly and grimacing.
"I can't believe it!" whined Rita, before ceasing and glowering. She stood at the balcony railing, facing the Earth, leaning back and extended both her arms toward the planet, slowly, "Even a stone golem can't beat those annoying teenagers!"
"Quite so, your Grumpiness! Though we're sure your next plan will definitely work," agreed Baboo, jerking his arms, bonked Squatt on the head three times before turning away, "Right, Squatt?"
"Oh, right!" confirmed Squatt.
"Finster!" screamed Rita, who then turned and stormed off the balcony to the left while passing between the nervous Baboo and Squatt. Both Goldar and Finster were on the opposite side, having by then moved farther, watching her, "This is all your fault! It was your stupid monster that lost!"
"But, my Queen, don't you remember?" protested Finster, frightened, raising his arms and covering his ears with hands, eyes opened, "Stone Hedge was requested by-!"
"No excuses!" The voice of Rita snapped, cutting Finster off. Then, outside, between Earth and the Lunar surface of the Moon in outer space, she screeched one more thing, "Great! Now I have a headache!"
(Callan's Castle)
Back at Callan's Castle, everyone slowly filed into the courtyard in an orderly manner, taking in the damage done by the attack. Several walls of the castle had been blasted down, the garden was ruined, and the clutter left from the original mess was strewn about the place. As Sir Topham Hatt began taking attendance, the unmorphed Ranger teens slipped into the crowd.
"Thomas! Where were you all at?" asked Duck.
"You just missed the Power Rangers showing up to fight off those clay things and rescue us," remarked Marion excitedly.
"Well, Emily and I were out by the lake," answered Thomas.
"And once that big golem monster arrived, the Power Rangers told us to hide and stay low," lied Emily.
"As for the three of us, we were busy getting the horses away from the attack," Toby pointed out, who then quickly cast a glance at the now conscious Mavis, "Either way, I'm glad to hear you're safe and sound, Mavis."
While Mavis was indeed awake again and relieved to be alive, she was still a little shaken by what nearly happened to her. The other students seemed to believe the group's stories as everyone then turned to focus on Sir Topham Hatt and Lord Callan. A little later, once everyone had been dismissed and permitted to wander at their leisure, they all stared at the destroyed courtyard.
"What a mess…" sighed Percy.
"I guess this means our festival is ruined," shrugged Rosie.
"Oh, what a shame," smirked Daisy sarcastically, "If only 'her Majesty' had actually done her job, we might have actually had a successful trip."
Most just frowned at Daisy, but Emily stepped forward from the crowd and started to clear away some of the mess left behind by the horses' rampage and the Putty attack.
"Our festival is still happening!" she declared, turning to address the student body, "I promised you all a great time today, and, mark my word, I'm going to give it to you!"
Everyone perked up at Emily's words, with Thomas smiling proudly, knowing his encouragement worked.
"But I'm going to need everyone to pull their weight to make it a reality!" announced Emily, "The quicker we get this cleaned up, the quicker we can enjoy the rest of our field trip!" She raised her right hand into the air, "Now, who's with me?!"
Everybody else who wasn't Diesel, Daisy, nor their friends, looked at each other, then at Emily, and raised their hands and cheered, rushing in to start tidying everything that was destroyed.
"Pfft! This will never work," Diesel whispered to Daisy.
"Poor Emily is just wasting her time," agreed Daisy.
As everyone worked together cleaning up the courtyard, Emily offered several of the students like Duck, Emma, Pip, Sidney, and Paxton some words of encouragement like how a true Queen would behave. After what seemed like forever, the courtyard was back to what it looked like before the whole mess began. Sir Topham Hatt, Lord Callan, and the staff returned to see that the students restored the courtyard to perfection.
"My goodness! The courtyard! It's been restored!" cried Lord Callan, before turning and addressing Sir Topham Hatt, "Bertram, I have to hand it to your students, they did a wonderful job!"
"Yes, they have," smiled Sir Topham Hatt, "That's what makes me proud of them."
The students all listened to the praise they were getting. Although Emily was smiling since it was her who rallied everyone to clean the place up, she was still unconvinced she would make a great Queen. From there, it was finally time to vote for the 'King' and 'Queen' of the field trip. Once the votes were cast and counted, Sir Topham Hatt took the time to speak to everyone one more time.
"Okay, everyone, the votes have been cast," announced Sir Topham Hatt, "We shall now reveal who the winners are for the contest!"
Snapping his fingers, one of Lord Callan's staff members walked over and whispered into the principal's ear. Afterwards, Sir Topham Hatt made the announcement…
"King and Queen, here we come!" thought Diesel proudly.
"And the winning pair, with a staggering 21 out of 27 votes is…" began Sir Topham Hatt.
"Yes! Yes!" Daisy jeered mentally.
Everyone waited with bated breath as the principal looked up and smiled big.
"…Thomas Billinton and Emily Stirling!" announced Sir Topham Hatt.
As soon as the answer was called out, Diesel and Daisy both recoiled in total shock as the other students all cheered for the winning pair. Thomas and Emily, meanwhile, were genuinely surprised that they won.
"Us?" peeped Thomas.
"Seriously?" came from Emily.
"Emily, if it wasn't for you rallying everyone, this whole trip would've been a bust," encouraged Murdoch.
"Do you see now, Emily? You do have what it takes to be a Queen," reassured Rosie, "And since you proved it, it means you earned our votes and have been crowned as a result!"
"Them?!" raged Diesel, deeply unhappy to have lost, "No way! This is ridiculous! Daisy and I should have earned more votes!" He then protested to Sir Topham Hatt, "Sir, this must be a joke! How could Thomas and Emily have earned more votes than Daisy and I?"
"Now, now, Diesel, Thomas and Emily won fair and square," scolded Sir Topham Hatt, "Matter of fact, you and Daisy only received two votes."
"Only two?!" gasped Diesel.
"Likely from yourselves!" added Duck mockingly, causing everyone to laugh.
"Outrageous!" snapped Daisy, who was equally upset, "Who would dare to vote against us?"
"We did," The voice of Splatter answered.
Daisy went red in the face as she slowly turned her head towards an innocent-looking Dodge and Splatter, not realizing that she was less than thrilled by the confession.
"During the clean up, Emily promised us she'd arranged a banquet for the celebration," said Dodge cheerfully.
"That means free food," put in Splatter, "How could Dodge and I say no to something like that?"
Diesel and Daisy were seething over what they heard. In fact, they were so angry that they charged at the two Smelters students in an effort to throttle them over their betrayal.
"You morons!" shouted Diesel, as Dodge and Splatter yelped and made a run for it, "You backstabbers!"
"You voted against Diesel and I just for free food?!" howled Daisy.
While that happened, the rest of the students, even Sir Topham Hatt, Lord Callan, and the castle staff all laughed joyfully. With that, everyone began to disperse, and Thomas and Emily pulled Percy, Toby, and Rosie away to talk to them in private.
"Again, well done, Thomas and Emily," beamed Rosie, "You two are officially King and Queen of the field trip."
"Wait, but there's 29 of us here," Percy pointed out, "So how come there were only 27 votes?"
"That's because Thomas and I never actually voted," answered Emily, "With the big mess earlier and our battle with Stone Hedge, we just kinda didn't bother."
"Makes sense," mused Toby, "But who were the other four votes for?"
"That'd be some of us," The voice of Duck cut in.
The Ranger teens turned to see Duck, Flora, Oliver, and Hank walking over.
"Me and Flora also ran for the title," revealed Duck, wrapping his right arm around Flora, "Isn't that right, darlin'?"
"After all, what's a little healthy competition?" smirked Flora.
"Plus, Great Westerners stick together," stated Oliver.
"An' ah jus' needed to support mah best buds," insisted Hank, "But congrats on the win."
The Ranger teens all smiled amongst themselves.
"Well, it's nice that one team knows how to be good sports when having lost," beamed Emily.
"I'll vouch for that," agreed Percy.
In the background, Diesel and Daisy continued yelling and chasing after Dodge and Splatter in an effort to get back at the two for voting against them.
(Castle Throne Room)
Later inside the castle's throne room, everyone, students and castle staff alike, gathered to watch the makeshift coronation. As soon as Donald and Douglas blew into their trumpets, the nearby doors opened and revealed Thomas, Emily, Percy, and Rosie. Thomas was decked out in a similar outfit to what King Anakin had worn, which was a light-blue tunic with several jewels around the hem and shoulders, gauntlets, leg guards, a shoulder piece that had a red cape attached to it, and a simple gold crown. Emily was dressed in a near replica of Queen Anastasia's long flowing sleeveless dress that reached the floor, high-heeled slippers, satin gloves, and a simple tiara. Percy and Rosie, meanwhile, were picked by Thomas and Emily to serve as Knight and Lady-in-Waiting respectively and even dressed for the part, with Percy decked out in a standard Knight's chainmail uniform, and Rosie was in a fancy black dress with a corset—much to her slight discomfort as the corset felt a little tight for a mild reason—with matching tights and slippers. Percy and Rosie stepped forward and motioned their arms out, allowing for Thomas and Emily to begin walking on the red carpet towards the two thrones.
"Man, this is so cool," breathed Thomas.
"It really feels like we're becoming King and Queen of the Island of Sodor," remarked Emily.
Once they got close enough, the pair took a seat on the thrones as the entire room erupted into cheers for the new royal monarchy. From there, just as Emily promised everyone, the banquet and ball commenced with everyone eating the delicious food prepared by the chefs, dancing, or just plain old talking. While Thomas and Emily watched, Rosie leaned over from her position next to the Queen's throne towards Thomas.
"I gotta say, you really clean up nicely Thomas," complimented Rosie, with a hint of mischief in her eyes.
"Thank you, Rosie," replied Thomas, as Rosie appeared to beam with pride, "And so do you."
Rosie then slowly leaned in closer, propping herself on the armrest.
"You know, I've heard some ladies-in-waiting did serve the King here," Rosie grinned, fluttering her eyes at Thomas, "How's about I give you some special treatment, your Majesty?"
Emily's head snapped to the side, seeing Rosie attempting to flirt with Thomas. Smoothly, she got up from her throne and rounded both of them to stand at Thomas' other side, taking his hand in her own.
"Thomas, dear, the day is still young and we have yet to share a dance," tempted Emily, helping him up and walking down to the dance floor while also shooting the dismayed Rosie a smug grin and wave, "Nice try, Rosie."
Rosie merely puffed up her cheeks and looked away while pouting—at least until Percy approached, tapped her on the shoulder, and held his right hand out.
"Say, may I have this dance, m'lady?" offered Percy.
Rosie blinked a few times before smiling with a hand on her chest.
"My, how chivalrous, Sir Percy," she replied jokingly, before accepting the offer, "Sure."
Talk about the 'almost' perfect ending to what ultimately became a perfect day. Rita might have lost the battle (again), but she would be back with another scheme before too long, and the Rangers would have to remain on their toes.
This chapter took far longer than I expected, but it's finally finished and posted. Fortunately, the next one will be much easier for us to work on.